Bedrooms storage

A bedroom should be a haven from the chaos of life, a place to relax and unwind. But it's hard to feel serene when you're looking at piles of dirty clothes, tripping over shoes, and searching through that overstuffed closet for your favorite belt.

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to organize even small bedrooms and closets. In fact, there may be several square feet of potential storage right under your nose. Here are five tips for stashing in style.

A king-size bed eats up 42 square feet of space. Why should the dust bunnies have it all to themselves? "Under-bed containers can hold the shorts and tank tops you're not wearing in January and make more room for what you are wearing," says Kristine Becker of Closet & Storage Concepts in Voorhees, N.J. "Flipping your seasons is a great way to save space.

Mximize ur closet

Before buying bulky dressers or armoires, make sure you're getting the most out of your closet especially when it comes to hanging space," says Becker. "You can always add drawer or shelf units, but it's harder to change the rods."

Before you start drawing up plans for your bedroom storage closet, analyze what you plan to keep there. To figure out where to install rods, for example, estimate how much space dresses and suits take up versus shirts and jackets. For longer items, you need full-length vertical space under the rod. If the bulk of your clothes extend less than three feet, hanging two sets of rods, one high and one about 40 inches above the floor, will double the amount of clothes you can hang in that space.

Consider what you need access to on a daily basis versus every few months. Your favorite walking shoes should be front and center, whereas those strappy Manolo Blahniks can be stashed in their boxes on an upper shelf for special occasions. Shoe cubes, tiered tie racks and slide-out laundry bins help keep things tucked away yet easily accessible.